Rural Age Pensions and Rural-Urban Migration in China

Urbanisation is one of China’s most profound demographic and social processes today. Social inequality, particularly regarding access to age pensions, poses challenges that have significant ramifications for sustainable urbanisation and migrant labour supply. This chapter addresses two questions. The first looks at the discrepancy in participation in the rural age-pension program among the three main groups of the rural hukou-holding population: (1) migrant households living in a mega city (Nanjing); (2) farmer households with members who are migrant workers and are employed or run their businesses outside the boundary of the prefectural city where their county is located, and; (3) farmer households without any member being a migrant worker, or with migrant workers who are employed or run their businesses within the boundary of the prefectural city where their county is located. Next, the study investigates how participation in the rural age-pension program impacts choices of future living destinations (urban versus rural areas). The analysis takes two counties (Anyue and Muchuan) of Sichuan province (one of the largest origins of migrant workers) in west China as the case studies. It compares the results with those obtained in Nanjing city of Jiangsu province (a destination of migrants on the east coast). Econometric methods were used to analyse primary data collected through specially tailored surveys to develop a thorough understanding of these issues. The choice of mobility concerning future resettlement destinations (urban versus rural) for diverse groups of the rural hukou population is a function of complex demographic, social and economic factors of individuals and their households.